Only The Lonely Hearts
by Overworkedunderwhelmed
Summary: Marinette collapsed into her rooftop lounge chair, dropping her sketchbook into her lap and burying her face into her now empty hands. This university assignment was going to kill her. Building up a whole prepared men's line proposal in two weeks? No pressure. She shook her head, burrowing her face deeper into her arms. If only she could find a mews...


Author's Notes:

Thanks to Kellarhi for her endless beta reading efforts! And a massive thank you goes out to the Kitty Love Zine Mods who were amazing throughout the whole process!

If you were lucky enough to snag a copy of the Kitty Love Zine, you will notice that this piece is a little bit longer by about 250 words. Unfortunately, the Zine pieces were limited to 1500 words, and higher limits are my downfall.

**Please note:** While this also works as a standalone piece, it is also the functional prequel for A Little Sketchy. If you have not read this one, I suggest you do so first. For reasons...

* * *

Marinette collapsed into her rooftop lounge chair, dropping her sketchbook into her lap and burying her face into her now empty hands.

Not even the chill of the night air could soothe her aching head. Wearily, she massaged her temples. Tikki might be able to rest up ahead of the next battle on the horizon, but she'd worked too long and too hard already to just let her dream career slip away.

This university assignment was going to kill her. Building up a whole prepared men's line proposal in two weeks, incorporating a half-semester's worth of guidance for 50% of her final grade?

No pressure.

She shook her head, burrowing her face deeper into her arms and exhaling into the crisp night air. At least it was nice out, fresh air was just what she needed to clear her head.

Slowly but surely the young designer in training picked herself back up and began to work again. Her pencil darted furiously across the page with practiced grace. While she'd drawn plenty of girls in the past, she'd really only ever designed for one boy, even though he hadn't ever been any the wiser...

It wasn't her fault that she'd been focused on Adrien for so long. Not with his face on nearly every magazine and billboard in every corner of the city - walls of her room included - for almost as long as she'd been a teenager. Even her design professor seemed to idolize the way each piece he wore seemed to move ever so gracefully with his body as he modeled, donning the clothing as if it were a second skin.

It was only natural that Marinette had learned to draw his form by heart. She'd prided herself on very careful observation, committed to doing his increasingly muscular form justice. She couldn't have been the only one that noticed how the once scrawny boy was eagerly coming into his own as Gabriel had been consistently adding swimsuit photoshoots to Adrien's usual rotation, much to the delight of his fangirls and Marinette. That particular image set was now indelibly etched onto her retinas.

Beneath the veneer of swagger and sensuality he now vibrantly projected on the page, Adrien was every bit as kind as he always was. The combination had been devastating to the composure she'd perfected over the years, forcing her stammer to return from retirement with a vengeance.

Not that Adrien hadn't politely borne every stammered, jumbled, alphabet soup of a sentence she'd ever managed to utter with far more kindness than she could've ever expected of anyone in his position. It was that very same kindness that had her falling for him to being with.

Groaning, Marinette smacked her cheeks, begrudgingly snapping herself back into reality, leaving dreams of a life with the model boy behind. The deadline had already crept up on her, what with patrol and familial distractions. She couldn't afford to waste any more time fantasizing of what could've been or might still be.

At least with as many visual sources as she had, she wouldn't exactly have to ask Adrien if she could sketch him for this project, even if she could manage to find time in his (and her) increasingly busy schedule.

When she'd started all this superhero business, she'd been certain she would have an active dating life by now. But she was always busy. It was hard enough to explain to friends and professors why she'd suddenly just disappear only to return minutes sometimes hours later looking so disheveled she could've just come out of a car accident which, much to her and Chat Noir's detriment, was all too often the case. A boyfriend would only further complicate the situation.

Maybe it was just as well she wasn't dating. Despite all the years between now and when they'd first met, she hadn't exactly been able to get over that first crush, let alone gain enough composure around Adrien to actually ask him out. Not with his face perpetually plastered all over the Paris skyline.

It was only then, after the lovelorn sigh passed her lips that she spotted the tail twitching overhead.

"Chat Noir," she grumbled, as the tail stilled to a halt above her. "How long were you up there?"

Her question was met only with mischievous, glowing green eyes and a tilted smirk as he tumbled down off the roof onto his feet. "We've got to stop meeting like this, Princess…"

"I really haven't been moving around much, Chat Noir." Arching an eyebrow, Marinette pulled her knees up against her chest. She shut her book before the nosy kitty could manage a better peek. "This is my own rooftop after all. Well, my parents' at least…"

"And yet you know when I make my patrols… and my usual route." He smirked right back. "It's almost as if you keep waiting up for me to drop by."

"Honestly," Marinette sighed, tapping her nails against the cover of the sketchbook, "I was a little too busy to even consider it."

Chat's smile softened, loneliness becoming a bit more plain in his eyes. "Hard at work, I see…"

Her eyes narrowed, trying to scry just how much he had seen. "Yes, but I'm a little… blocked."

"Working on sketches for class?"

She paled. Surely, if he had gotten a glimpse, then he wouldn't be asking now, right? "Brainstorming design details for a menswear line. I'll have to incorporate it into my portfolio by year-end."

"And yet you're flustered…" He frowned, crouching down beside her.

Marinette tilted her head, willing the warmth to ebb from her cheeks under his too-canny gaze. Maybe he had spotted who she'd been sketching. "I kind of keep rehashing the same designs."

His grin was maddening. "So you need to be inspired?"

She snorted, "That's not exactly the problem." Thumbing her book open to one of the earlier pages, Marinette displayed a sketch of her father while he worked downstairs and another of Nino DJ-ing. "I need to present a few different body types… and a set of clothes that would work well for each. It needs to be able to grace the runways, but also functional and form-fit for everyday life."

"So you just need another model? I have it on good authority that I'm a very good mews." He grinned down at her, flexing unabashedly.

Marinette giggled. "Aren't you a little too busy with keeping Paris safe?"

Chat winked. "Never too busy to do an extra favor for one of my favorite fair citizens of Paris."

Marinette shook her head fondly. In all the years that he'd been coming to visit, he'd always delighted in making her laugh.

She'd first insisted on the occasional separate patrol years ago, after she'd noticed Chat Noir grow uncharacteristically quiet. She might not have been able to help him as Ladybug— not without risking their identities. But as Marinette, she could offer him every ounce of comfort and friendship she'd wanted to... all with her kitty none the wiser.

A slow smile curved her lips. "You know what… why not?"

"Where do you want me?"

Marinette bit her lip, to hush a far more Ladybug-like quip as she guided his form into place.

He picked up on her quiet amusement, promptly dropping a heavy dose of puns into their easy conversation as she sketched out pose after pose.

She shook her head, as he prattled and punned on - about everything and nothing. For all that she'd considered Chat Noir to be forever in motion, it was surprisingly easy to put the details down onto the page.

Maybe it was all the interviewing over the years, but Chat clearly had an aptitude for posing. She'd only had to remind him to keep still once. "You know, you're actually pretty good at posing."

There was an inscrutable flicker in his eyes after her comment, but it passed so quickly she'd almost missed it. Her brows furrowed, as she continued drawing the line of his shoulder.

Mostly because he'd been distracting her with humor, she found herself falling back on the muscle memory of drawing Adrien. She frowned, looking up to observe to correct the form… and quickly noticed she really didn't have to.

Not even a little bit.

Marinette paled as a rush of panic set in. What were the odds that Adrien and Chat Noir both had the same builds, as young teens and now? Adrien probably would know how to figure out the math for that question. She visibly shivered, wide-eyed and half delirious.

Ever the hero, Chat leapt into action without hesitation, bundling her up into his arms. "You've got to be freezing, Princess," he mumbled, frowning as he hovered. "C'mon. Let's get you inside where it's warm."

She complied with quiet fascination as he ushered her safely inside, settling her down onto the chaise. Her eyes scanned the room for any sign of Tikki, but it was clear that her kwami had safely hidden away.

"Do you want to continue the sketch after you warm up a bit?" When she didn't answer, he repeated. "Marinette?"

"Maybe a bit later?" Marinette stared down at the floor. "I don't want to wake up my parents…"

Chat nodded, uncertain as he draped the comforter he'd snagged from the bed about her shoulders— another echo of kindness she'd long associated with Adrien.

He lingered a little longer next to her, his hand finally leaving its perch on her shoulder. "Can I… can I see what you've done so far?"

"Not just yet." Marinette rewarded him with a tremulous smile. "You might say it's not quite purrfect yet."

He beamed blissfully, slowly pulling himself back up towards her skylight.

"Chat?" she whispered her words a bit bolder this time.

Ears twitching, Chat turned back towards her.

"Do you think you could come back tomorrow? So I can finish it?" She was sure her cheeks were warm, but there was no helping that now.

Chat Noir grinned, tail winding languorously around the edge of her ladder. "As you wish, Purrincess."

Dazed, Marinette stared off after Chat Noir, as he saluted and carefully lowered the hatch behind himself.

It was only then, a few breathless moments later, that Marinette's wits - and her kwami - returned from hiding. Her mind was already busy, piecing together the first sketchy details of a plan.


End file.
